


A   S L Y T H E R I N' S   T A L E

by JovaLV



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Character Death, F/F, F/M, Good Slytherins, Loss of Parent(s), Major Original Character(s), Metamorphmagus, Minor Original Character(s), Near Death Experiences, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Quidditch, Slytherin, Slytherins Being Slytherins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:08:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29282004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JovaLV/pseuds/JovaLV
Summary: 'Or perhaps in SlytherinYou'll make your real friends,Those cunning folks use any meansTo achieve their ends.'Haven Wilderwald would've considered herself a rather strange case. Complete memory loss, dead parents, something called a metamorphmagus and constantly hiding from two men who'd do anything to get a prophecy out of her.
Kudos: 1





	1. H A V E N   W I L D E R W A L D

It all went too fast. One second, there was nothing but a weird spinning sensation, the next second, eyes opened and darkness and silence became a busy street. People running by, shoving each other out of the way as they went on with their day. Someone was spinning, trying to find a sense of direction, absolutely desperate and scared. A big man ran past and pushed that someone to the ground. As they were just sitting there with all the legs and briefcases flying past their face, the very first breath was torn and the overwhelming feeling of anxiety slowly vanished, the world stopped spinning and the first coherent thought was made. There was no memory but there was language, there was thought, and the signs of the shops were readable.  
"Hello" came a quiet whisper. Whoever it was, could speak. A heavy wind blew hair into eyes. Long, white, wavy hair. Her hair then.  
Two hands grabbed her shoulders and she looked up to one of the muggles, an elderly ladies who spoke to her with a caring tone "Are you alright dear?"   
"I'm a little lost I'm afraid."   
"Where are your parents sweetheart? Are you here with them?"   
Parents? Yes.. people had parents. She looked down at herself. She appeared to be rather short, with tiny hands and feet. She was a child. She knew that children had parents, though she wasn't sure how. Nothing made sense to her, nothing felt right. "I don't know. I can't remember anything."   
"Do you at least remember your name?" the woman spoke with something that struck the girl as worry. The girl thought she seemed very nice.  
But name. Did she have one? If she wasn't mistaken, everybody had names, but she didn't really remember what names sounded like. She looked around and read the signs and wondered if any of the shop-names were appropriate for a person. Then she tried to focus. A name would make things easier for her, even though she didn't know how it could- not yet. She knew she was a girl, and though she didn't really know what it meant, she knew she was English. It was where she lived, it was the language she spoke. English- she knew there were countries in the world. She assumed she was in England. A girl in England, she wondered if her name would be affected by that. She tilted her head back and looked at something very big and blue. It was the sky, and there was the sun and what she knew were clouds, though only very few of them. And in the next second a name came to mind. One she felt used to reacting to, though she didn't know who exactly would be referring to her.  
"Haven." she said. It had to be. It felt too familiar to be wrong.  
"What did you say love?"   
The girl realized she'd been talking more to herself than the old woman, and decided it was time to get up. Standing up she still had to look up far to look at the woman. Haven felt very short as she stood and wiped the dirt off her hands "My name is Haven."  
"Haven.." she repeated it "a pretty name, really. Does it come with a surname?"   
Haven had no idea. She didn't know what a surname was. "No." She didn't want to talk to that woman anymore, it annoyed her. She turned on the heel and walked away, ignoring her calling after her. She walked down more of those terribly crowded streets and tried to drown out the awful ringing and whispering in her ear. There were words and pictures in her head. She wondered if those were memories, but they seemed too loud. Thinking back at the woman, that was a memory. She didn't know what all this was about. She wondered who that man was she kept seeing. He looked very bad, with a bloody face and torn clothes. People didn't usually walk around like that. He had very messy black hair and green eyes, which he closed shortly before a flash of green light knocked him off his feet. After that he didn't move.  
Haven arrived at a tall building, and looked up to where a large circle with stripes- a clock- it was a clock. A giant clock on a tall tower. This felt familiar as well. She felt the sudden urge to walk over to one of the buildings on the other side of the street. In big black letters it introduced itself as 'The Hotel of the Rising Sun'. A hotel- she wondered if they'd allow her to sleep in one of their beds if she explained she had nothing but a name.   
It was a worth a try. That was all she could tell herself at the moment and she headed over to the grand white building. It had to be a hotel for wizards as well, not a single one of the passing muggles seemed to notice it was there. Instead they almost turned their heads to look away from it. She opened the heavy golden door and stepped into a beautiful large hall, with high ceilings, golden chandeliers, pillars of marble accentuated with more gold. The walls are decorated with portraits of witches and wizards alike, and along them stood rows of comfortable looking armchairs.The lobby was mostly empty. In one of the white-golden armchairs sat an old man, with a white beard all the way down to his belt, deeply invested in a crochet-magazine, and a young witch was working the registry.   
"Can I help you?" said the witch. She looked at Haven with searching eyes, and came out from behind the counter "Are you here with your parents?"  
"Er-" the old man had put down his magazine and eyed her with curiosity, seeming to wait for an answer as well. "No. I don't really know where they are."  
"You're lost?"  
"That- yeah that sums it up pretty well."  
"We could try sending an owl or-"  
"I'm not that kind of lost." interrupted Haven "I mean I don't know where my parents are but I also don't know who they are or-" she scratched the back of her head "who I am for that matter." she glanced over to the old man, and was relieved to see he'd gone back to reading his magazine and eating some yellow sweets.  
"What do you mean, you don't know who you are?" said the witch, now seeming slightly uneasy.  
"I mean... I don't really know yet. I know my name, that's it. I just popped up out of nowhere a few minutes ago, and that's really the first thing I remember."  
"Well, what's your name then?"  
"Haven."  
"Haven what?"  
"What?"  
"Your surname. Do you remember that?" she asked impatiently.  
Haven shook her head "What's a surname?"  
"Your family name. I'm Fedoria, Fedoria Diggory, for example."  
Haven shook her head again "No, I don't remember that. Just Haven."  
"Oh-" Fedoria looked over to the old man "What do you think, Eugene? Does that sound like a memory charm to you?"  
"Has to be." said the man, nodding "Strong one as well if it did this much damage. I'll ask around at the Ministry, if they've got a missing Haven somewhere." he lifted himself out of the armchair, straightened his long, teal-blue robes and left down a hallway.  
Fedoria offered Haven a seat and a cup of tea as they waited, and tried to get her to remember even the smallest detail, but all Haven could do was retell the story, the weird sensation she felt before opening her eyes, all while nervously tapping her shoe against the armchair's leg.  
Finally the old man returned, with new black stains on his robes "Absolutely nothing. There's no Havens, about the girls age, except for one in Ilvermorny, but she doesn't fit the description. This girl doesn't seem to exist."  
"Well, I clearly do." said Haven, agitated "What about children in general? Have any gone missing?"  
"Not a single one. Besides the Ministry's rather busy today, murder-suicide, the entire place is buzzing."  
"Not in front of the kid." said Fedoria "Thank you, Eugene." she turned to look at Haven "What on earth am I supposed to do with you?"  
Haven shrugged "I don't really know where to go... I was hoping you'd maybe- if I could maybe stay here? I'd work, of course, to pay for it... I just don't know where else-"  
"Of course!" said Fedoria "Don't you worry about that, I'll have you stay here as long as you need. We'll find your parents, and we'll figure this all out, I promise."  
She led Haven up to an empty room on the fifth floor and informed her about mealtimes, before hurrying back to her position behind the registry.  
The girl sat still for a while, inspecting herself in the mirror across from her. Her hair was snow-white, and so was her skin, though it was almost nearing grey, with black circles underneath her eyes, her cheeks, though slightly puffy with baby-fat, were fallen in, and her skin seemed to be stretching over nothing but bones. Even the colour of her eyes was a blue so pale it was almost white. She wondered what had happened for her to look this sickly, when a knocking sound came from the window. She jumped around to see an owl sitting on the window sill outside, with a letter in its beak.  
Quickly she opened the window to let the owl inside and took the letter. It came in a big envelope, sealed with red wax and her information written across it.  
Miss H. Wilderwald  
Room 507 Hotel of the Rising Sun  
London SW1A 1/2AA  
England  
She stared at it in disbelief. It couldn't be, could it? A letter, telling her her name, and already knowing where she was, though she hadn't been here for more than maybe an hour. She broke the wax seal and pulled out the contents of the envelope, including two sides of parchment and a small sort of ticket. She put, what seemed like a list, and the ticket aside and read the letter that was addressed directly at her.  
Dear Haven Wilderwald  
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.  
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.  
Yours sincerely,  
Minerva McGonagall  
Deputy Headmistress  
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY  
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore  
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)  
She stared a little longer and reread the letter a couple more times. She'd been accepted to a school, even though the man, Eugene, had made it clear she wasn't supposed to exist, and it even addressed her by her full name. Now that she thought about it and quietly repeated the name to herself, it seemed familiar. She took the letter and walked back down to the lobby where she showed it to Fedoria.  
"It has to be your birthday then." said Fedoria "Everybody gets their acceptance letter on their eleventh birthday-" she furrowed her eyebrows "I could've sworn that- never mind."  
"So, I turn eleven today?" said Haven "What date is it today?"  
"The twenty-sixth of July."   
"And-" she felt stupid "what year?"  
"Nineteen eighty-one."   
"So..." Haven tried to do the math in her head, but had to count on her fingers "I was born in... nineteen eighty?"  
Fedoria nodded. "Haven Wilderwald... maybe we'll find something on your family then. I'll talk to Isaac when he's back, he had an urgent call from the ministry, maybe he can tell his father to look you up." her eyes were still searching for something in Haven, as if there was something she was trying to remember.  
"Listen, is there any possibility you might have an open position here?" said Haven "There was a big list that came with the letter, seems expensive. Maybe as housekeeping?"   
She smiled softly "You understand it would be highly immoral to hire a child, right?"   
"You could call it a paid internship..."   
She laughed shortly "I suppose we could." A sigh followed and she came out from behind the counter "Follow me. You're lucky we've been looking for someone to do the dishes and keep the kitchen clean for a while... I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have you for a month."   
"Really?"   
"You mess up three times, you're out." they arrived in a large kitchen with at least ten people hectically running around and preparing dinner "Isaac still isn't here..." she said to herself before waving over a huge man with a hairnet over his bald head and a handlebar moustache "Michail, this is Haven, she'll be working here till the end of August, please show her how everything is done and when Isaac comes back, tell him to keep an eye on her, will you?"  
"Of course, m'lady." said Michail with a friendly smile and a thick Russian accent "Come little girl, you can start with counter, Danny spilled the sauce earlier, nasty stain."  
"Perfect." said Fedoria "I'll go and send an owl to Hogwarts, just so you know." she softly squeezed Haven's shoulder and left the kitchen.  
Michail didn't speak a lot, and most of the time he'd just say "Girl." point at another stain or a new pile of dishes. For five hours she was scrubbing the surfaces, dishes, the ground and the walls, until Michail finally ended her shift and told her to come back the next day after breakfast. Whoever Isaac was, didn't return, at least not to the kitchen. When Haven walked through the lobby to go back to her room, she saw a young man talking quietly with Fedoria. He seemed very upset, crying almost the entire time they spoke.  
Haven found out the man had indeed been Isaac when he came to the kitchen a week later. Isaac Lefarih was a tall, skinny boy with long, messy brown curls, who, even though he seemed still highly upset, was a very chatty man, just graduated Hogwarts two years ago. He had spent most of his life under a dark wizard's- Voldemort he called him- reign of terror and kept telling stories about growing up in a world like that.   
"I'm a half blood, you know. Dad's a halfblood, mum was a squib. I heard that you know who was a halfblood himself but that didn't stop him from wanting families like mine dead. Wasn't even that big of a deal. My mum was the first non wizard of her family side in centuries."   
Haven nodded, rubbing a rather aggressiv stain from the floor.   
"Anyways we spent a whole lotta time hiding. There were those vanishing cabinets, crazy things. You hop in when the deatheaters come and go to safe place."  
"Couldn't the deatheaters just have followed you by using the cabinet themselves?"   
"No no that's not how they worked."   
"Then how did they work?"   
He stopped mopping for a second and leaned on his mop "I'm not sure actually-" he said thoughtfully "Can't be operated by people under 17... my father used to operate it taking us with him. But you really gotta focus. Like on where you wanna go. Otherwise you're done for."   
"Did something like that happen to someone you knew?"   
His big brown eyes began tearing up a little "One day my mother and little brother Tony were alone at home. The death eaters came unexpectedly. My mum took my brother and they ran upstairs to the cabinet, but she couldn't operate it. Deatheaters got them both."  
"Sorry."   
He shrugged his shoulders. "It was years ago. Still got me dad." he looked at Haven "I didn't even think about it, why do you have to work? Where are your parents?"   
"I guess their dead. I don't know though. I don't remember anything from before a week ago."   
Something in his expression changed drastically "What's your name, again?"   
"Haven. Haven Wilderwald."   
"Hah... interesting." he turned away quickly but Haven caught a glimpse of his eyes filling with tears.   
"What's so interesting?" she was convinced that he was keeping something from her. He seemed to know something, she almost felt as though he knew her.  
"It's an interesting name. Pretty name."   
"No. That's not it."   
He turned around smiling softly "It is. Anyways I'm going to need you to clean the counters now." He went almost as quiet as Michail for the rest of their shift, occasionally looking at Haven with the same searching eyes she'd seen on Fedoria so many times already, as if they were trying to sort her somewhere into their memories, the only difference was that Isaac seemed to be finding what he'd been looking for. By the end of their shift he offered her to take her to Diagon Alley the next day, so she could go and buy her school supplies. He also had her wait in the lobby for him, and returned a few minutes later with what appeared to be soot, covering his face and clothes. He was carrying a large bag, in it were schoolbooks, a brass scale, and an unopened package of glass phials. "We'll still have to get you a cauldron, the potions book, mine's nothing more than shreds by now, and a telescope... broke mine a while back."


	2. D I A G O N   A L L E Y

In her dreams that night she saw the man again. The man she kept seeing whenever her eyes unfocused for a second. Standing in a forest, closing his eyes and allowing that green flash of light to hit him. He didn't put up a fight, barely even flinched but when Haven took a closer look at him, it was clear to her that he had just died. She also realized he wasn't a man at all. He was a boy, definitely no older than eighteen, and he lay dead on the ground while Haven heard her own voice whisper to her 'Only when the boy dies will he be able to defeat him... only when that part of the Dark Lord dies.'   
It was still dark outside when she woke up apart from the occasional flash of lightning. She really liked that sort of weather. The loud rain pattering against the window, the distant rumble of the thunder, it had a sort of calming effect. She would've really liked to know what exactly dreams were supposed to be like. Watching a stranger a stranger a die over and over again with that ominous whisper in the background- she decided to just forget about it for the moment. Maybe it was a memory, maybe it was the last thing she'd seen before losing her memory and that's why she kept seeing it. Didn't really matter either way. Instead she went looking for the light switch and sat down with one of the books, Isaac had given her, Hogwarts: A History.   
She was disappointed to see that the book didn't mention how exactly the house-sorting worked. If there was a test or something, with four different solutions to a problem, she could just do whatever would get her into the best house. It wasn't determined yet, though she knew she definitely didn't want to be in Hufflepuff. They sounded like complete knuckleheads. So far she liked Ravenclaw house best. They valued what a school should value. Intelligence, wit, learning and creativity. Of course Slytherin seemed very similar to that as well, they just proved to be more ambitious. Slytherin wouldn't be too bad either. And then there was Gryffindor. A bunch of hotheads. She didn't see how bravery would be important in a school.   
By sunrise Haven had finished the book and just started one of Isaac's old schoolbooks about fantastic beasts, when he came to knock on her door "Come down for breakfast, then we can get going."  
After breakfast, Haven finally found out why everybody always disappeared down the hallway and came back, covered in soot. She followed Isaac into a room with nothing but a fireplace and showed her how to travel by something called Floo powder. Travelling by Floo powder reminded her of the very first thing she felt before she opened her eyes in that busy street. She was being thrown around, spinning, with something that felt like small hands slapping her across the face. When she finally fell out of the fireplace in a pub in Diagon Alley, she fell about ready to throw up.  
"Didn't you say Diagon Alley is in London as well?" she asked while Isaac helped her clean the soot off her face and clothes "We could've just walked."  
"We can walk back if you'd like, but it's just faster this way."  
"It sucks." she finally finished rubbing the burning soot out of her eyes and looked around the pub. The Leaky Cauldron was a tiny pub, dark and shabby with a few people sitting in the corners, having muffled conversations. "Ah, day-drinking. How classy." she stared at a massive man, more like a giant with shaggy, dirty hair and beard, drinking a thick-looking yellow drink.  
"Ah, Hagrid!" said Isaac, walking over to shake the giant's hand "Been a while, how're you holding up?"  
"'S fine, keep jumping around between Hogwarts an' here. How's life treating yeh? Did yeh get a job yet?"  
"Still working at the hotel. Dori was recently promoted to manager and I'm still just scrubbing the floors and washing dishes..."  
"An' yeh did so good on your O.W.L.s an' N.E.W.T.s. I've bin telling yeh, go work at St. Mungos. They're always looking fer people like yeh."  
"You know I'm not cut out for that." Isaac shuddered "People sick and dying... anyways, good to see you, Hagrid, it's her first year-" he nodded over to where Haven was standing "Suppose Snape's still teaching potions?"  
Hagrid nodded "No gettin' rid o' 'im, I'm afraid."  
"So what's that guy?" asked Haven when they stepped out of the Cauldron into a small courtyard.   
"That was Hagrid. He's the gamekeeper at Hogwarts."  
"Fuck's a gamekeeper?" he winced at her swearing.  
"You should really watch you language." he lectured "A gamekeeper looks after wild animal and takes care of him."  
"Looked like a wild animal himself, covered in dirt like that." that comment bought her another angry look from Isaac.  
"Hagrid is a great man." he tapped the brick wall in front of them with his wand and the brick he touched began to shake a little and then, right there in the middle a small hole appeared, growing wider and wider. Just a second later they were faced by a large archway, leading to a long twisting and turning street. "You won't get far at Hogwarts with a snobby attitude like that."  
"Whatever." she followed him through the archway and watched it close behind them until it looked like the same solid wall, as if the archway had never existed.   
"Perfect." said Isaac, pointing at a well lit stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. "You need one of those... I'd give you my old ones but they're all in use right now." Haven stayed quiet and just watched him pick out a cauldron. He kept babbling on about how he just didn't understand the appeal of self-stirring cauldrons "Sure, less opportunity to mess up, but potion brewing is really all about the process. That's the fun part." he handed her a cauldron "Always go for brass cauldrons. They'll tell you copper's the best, brews faster and what not, but if you want your potion to be smooth and steady, brass is the way to go. Cheaper too. But never go for pewter. I had a pewter cauldron once- I was about ready to toss that thing from my window. I don't understand why they'd still expect that rubbish."  
"Okay." she looked at a group of children with their noses pressed against some shop's window "What's all the fuzz about?"  
"The new Nimbus Two Thousand's just come out. Supposed to be the fastest ever."   
"It's a broom?" she asked, looking past the crowd to get a look at the broomsticks displayed in the window "Did you ever fly one?"  
"Sure, everybody had. You'll have flying lessons in your first year."  
"But we're not allowed our own broomsticks." remembered Haven.  
"School's got practice brooms. Shooting Stars, absolutely rubbish of course, they should invest in Cleansweeps instead... didn't matter though, I was rubbish at flying anyways."   
Haven took a few more minutes to peer through the window and noticed a big poster with people in colourful uniforms passing each other a ball "What exactly is Quidditch?"  
"What?" he had already moved on to look at the other items on the list "Oh, Quidditch- it's a popular sport... rather brutal though."  
"Well, is it fun?"  
"Never played it. It's fun to watch though." he impatiently pointed at the list "Come on, we can get you your uniform at Madam Malkins." he dragged her along into a store called Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions and greeted the squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve. "Could you maybe get her fitted? Hogwarts first year."   
"Of course, have another first year in the back right now. Come along." she gestured Haven to follow her and led her to the back of the shop where a girl with short brown hair and a hard face was standing still on a footstool with a second witch pinning up her long black robes. "Hop on there."   
"Hogwarts?" asked the girl as Haven stood on the stool next to her.  
"Mhm." Madam Malkin slipped a long robe over her head and began pinning it to the right length.  
"It's my first year." said the girl "Yours too?"  
"Yeah."  
"What house do you suppose you'll be in? Personally I think it'll be Slytherin- well it has to be Slytherin, otherwise my parents are going to disown me or something."  
"Dunno. Slytherin sounds fine. Ravenclaw seems okay, too."  
"Suppose it does. I mean at least it's not Hufflepuff. If I ended up there- I'd kill myself if my parents didn't do it first."  
"Yeah. Hufflepuff's stupid."  
"I'm Pansy, by the way." said the girl, holding out her hand "And you are?"  
"Haven." she said and shook her hand.  
"Know anyone at Hogwarts yet?"  
"No."  
"Well, I've got some friends who'll start as well. I bet Draco wouldn't mind you hanging out with us."  
"Okay."  
"He's here too, right now. Trying to get his father to buy him a broom, one hell of a Quidditch player, or at least that's what he tells me. D'you play?"  
"No."  
"Me either. It's too brutal for my taste. Besides, I don't like flying too much... not a fan of heights I suppose. Have you got a broom?"  
"No."  
"I have one, an old Nimbus... father's tried to teach me how to fly a while back and got me the broom, but it's kind of crap. I heard they make us practice with Shooting Stars at Hogwarts, those are even worse, don't see how anyone's supposed to learn how to fly on those cheap things."  
"All done, dear." said the witch working on Pansy's robes and Haven sighed quietly with relief when the girl hopped off her stool.  
"Well, see you at Hogwarts then." said Pansy and waved goodbye before going back to the front of the shop.  
After that Haven patiently waited for Madam Malkin to finish with her too and headed back outside, where Isaac was already waiting with a few books in his hand "Remembered I also had to get a new Standard Book of Spells, I've given mine away ages ago, here's the new One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi and Magical Drafts and Potions." he handed Haven the books and she put them into her cauldron "Let's see, right the telescope-"  
"And a wand." said Haven "Haven't got that yet."  
He smiled with a hint of amusement "Yes, of course. A wand. Ollivanders is the place to go for that of course... we can pick up the rest on the way... I'll see if maybe I can get you an owl while you find your wand. See it as a birthday present."  
"What do I need an owl for?"  
"Always good to have an owl. If you ever have to send a letter to someone."  
She raised her eyebrows "And who would I be sending those letters to?"  
He just grinned stupidly "Whoever you'd like of course."  
Haven rolled her eyes and Isaac didn't make another attempt at conversation while they walked down the alley, got the telescope and headed on over to Ollivanders. "I'll be right back."  
"You're getting a stupid owl, aren't you."  
"Yes, it won't hurt you to have a pet- let's just hope it won't hurt the owl either."  
"Hilarious." She looked up at the peeling gold letters over the top of the narrow and shabby shop. Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. "382 B.C.? That's rather old, isn't it?"  
"Yes, you could say so. You'll learn about that in History of Magic... Roman Empire and all that. Don't remember it all of course, Professor Binns tried to bore us to death I think-"  
"Yeah, okay." she cut him off quickly "See you then." and opened the door. Somewhere in the back of the shop she heard a bell ring. There was another girl with her in the shop, a lot taller than Haven, wearing a leather-jacket too big for her, with long black hair and the most intense pair of grey eyes, she'd seen all the two days she could remember. A young man, Haven assumed he was the girl's father, sat in the chair and played with the hem of his worn-out coat.  
"I've never seen anyone take so long to find the right wand." he said.  
The girl smiled politely "Suppose it's better to get it right than rushed though."  
"Alright Miss Lupin-" an old man came from the back of the shop, carrying an armful of wands "Good afternoon." he said swiftly to Haven before turning back to the girl "I think I've almost got it. We'll definitely go with ash wood, I thought you'd be fit for unicorn hair, but maybe dragon heart-string core is the way to go."  
Haven watched the girl wave a few of the wands until one of them finally seemed to work, and her father sighed with relief when he watched silvery sparkles come from the wand and dance around the room "Way to go Jane." he handed the old man a handful of golden coins with a polite "Thank you." and the two of them left the shop.  
"So, who have we got here?" asked Ollivander.  
"Haven Wilderwald."  
"Ah- of course..." he almost immediately picked up a wand of light wood, with fine golden detail on its handle "I think I know exactly what do with you." he handed her the wand and she felt an incredible tingling in her fingers seemingly coming somewhere from her core "Give it a wave, go on." she did as he told her and a bright light exploded from the tip of the wand. "As expected. Sycamore and dragon heartstring core, 12 ¾ inches and unyielding flexibility. This kind of wands tend to be the ones with the most power, and which are capable of the most flamboyant spells. It learns more quickly than other types. But beware, it gets bored easily. If your spells are too mundane it might just break. And the flexibility... you must be a stubborn child, just like your wand." he laughed softly.  
"Well, that was quick." said Isaac, entering the shop, a birdcage in his hand.  
"Ah, Isaac Lefarih." said Ollivander "Acacia wood with a unicorn hair core, 13 ½" and slightly yielding flexibility, still serving you well I'd expect?"  
"Never disappoints." agreed Isaac. "So, Haven's done already?"  
"Easiest one in a while." said Ollivander "This wand's been buzzing for her for days it seems."  
"So, does he just happen to know what wand you've got or-" said Haven as soon as they left the shop.  
"Ollivander remembers every wand he's ever sold." said Isaac and lifted up the birdcage "Wouldn't you like to take a look at your new friend? I saw him and I just knew you were made for each other."  
Haven really wanted to protest and remind him she didn't want an owl in the first place, but the second she lay eyes on the beautiful jet-black owl she couldn't possibly complain "Oh he's wonderful." she said and forced herself to be a bit more polite "Thank you. Very much. I appreciate it."


	3. N I N E   A N D   T H R E E - Q U A R T E R S

As soon as they returned from Diagon Alley, she sat the owl cage down on her table and examined him closely. A beautiful black owl, staring back at her with bright yellow eyes. "Promise I'll find a name for you." She opened her window for the owl "I really hope you don't take this as an invite to fly away forever," She whispered "but I reckon you're gonna need the freedom." the owl looked at her with tired eyes and tilted his head. Then he continued sleeping. "Okay."   
She unpacked the books they'd bought, and lay out the ones Isaac had given her and decided to read the History of Magic book first. She stayed up until 10pm reading and highlighting important passages and facts she found peculiar or interesting.   
The next day she was awoken by the sun shining into the room and her owl flattering his wings. "Good morning buddy."she whispered carefully stroking his head with her finger. "Did you find something to eat?" he fluttered his wings again and flew into his cage to sleep. "I take that as yes. Alright, I'm gonna go buy some clothes now." she told him but he was already half asleep.   
With her pay for the first week, she managed to get herself enough clothes for a week, some bare necessities like tooth-paste and a few comics about a witch called Sabrina, in which she finally found the name for her owl. Salem, partly inspired by the Salem witch-trials she'd been reading about in History of Magic, but mostly by Salem Saberhagen, the black cat from the Sabrina the Teenage Witch comics.   
Even though it went against everything, Haven had decided to be, she had to admit, Isaac wasn't half as bad as she'd thought. Of course he was bossy, crying an awful lot and way too chatty, but he was also incredibly caring, and though it made her feel stupid, that was something she really needed. The truth was, even though she didn't know where or who they were, she missed her parents more and more. She'd see families in the hotel all the time and the mothers would give their kids kisses on the forehead, console them when they were crying, and at night, Haven would find herself wishing for someone to tuck her in and read her a story.   
The month went by slowly, with nothing but work and reading to keep Haven busy. She didn't really know what was going on, but she began really looking forward to Hogwarts, especially after an occurrence she couldn't explain by herself. After an unusually horrid nightmare she'd gone to the bathroom to wash the sweat of her face, only to find her usually white hair in a deep, dark-blue colour instead. From what she could gather, there were spells to change ones hair-colour, but she wasn't too convinced she'd actually done that spell in her sleep. She felt as though its fascinating library could hold the answer to every question she'd ever had.  
On the last day of August Haven went down to the reception. "So I'm leaving tomorrow." she said to Fedoria.  
"Indeed, you are." she smiled "We'll miss you."   
"Sure you will." said Haven sarcastically.  
Fedoria handed her a bag filled with golden coins "Congratulations. You earned it."   
Haven smiled gratefully.  
"Will you be back?"   
"What do you mean?"   
"You know, for Christmas, or the summer. You're always welcome to stay here and we'll always have a place for you on the staff."   
"Thank you. I suppose I will be back for Chrismas... or lastet the summer."   
"That's nice to hear. Isaac said he'd get you to King's cross tomorrow , if you need it."   
"How?"   
"I don't know. The car? He told me to tell you. Go talk to him."   
"Thanks again Fedoria."  
Haven went to look for Isaac in the kitchen first before walking up to his room. He let her in as soon as she knocked. On the floor lay a big wooden trunk with the Hogwarts crest on it, beneath which he'd carved an I.L. into the wood. With nothing more than a wave of his finger he had the trunk fling open, revealing two sweaters in Hufflepuff colours, one with the Ravenclaw colours and also a Ravenclaw scarf and a small round shaped crystal phial filled with slightly yellow liquid.   
"Thought you might need a trunk." he said "Hoped you'd come. I'll get you to King's Cross tomorrow if you want."   
"Were you a Hufflepuff?"  
He smiled warmly "I am a Hufflepuff, yes."  
"Are you... getting rid of the Trunk?"   
"And a Ravenclaw?"  
He looked confused before taking another look at the trunk "Oh no. Only the big Hufflepuff sweater is mine. The rest isn't. But you might want to hold on to them."   
"Are you... getting rid of the Trunk?"   
"Don't really need it anymore, do I?"   
"Maybe?"   
He shook his head. "It's for you. Gotta pack, right."   
"I guess." She was a little uncomfortable. Not a big fan of gifts. She also felt a bit of guilt for having been rather rude to Isaac "That's really nice of you." she said.   
"Gotta help each other out." He shrugged again. "The Express leaves at eleven sharp, so it's best if you're ready by ten. Then we won't have to worry about the platform being too busy either."  
Ten had been a good joke. Haven was completely ready at six in the morning, put on her Jeans, a black shirt, brushed her teeth and hair and threw the rest of her stuff into the Trunk. Her robes she put on top of everything to put it on on the train.   
She also checked on Salem who seemed to be asleep as always "Hey buddy, if you wanna go spread you wings this is going to be your last chance for a while." and as always he ignored her completely. With a shrug of her shoulders she secured his cage and put it on top of her trunk. Her wand was secured in her sock, she had a bit of money in her pockets, checked her Hogwarts list one more time before showing it into her pocket and put the ticket for the train into the other. One last time she went down for breakfast and said her goodbyes to the staff before meeting Isaac, who was already waiting with the trunk and Salem by his side.  
"You got everything?"   
She nodded.  
"You sure?"  
She nodded again.  
"Ticket?"   
She took it from her pocket to show it to him.  
"Alright. Good, good, very good..." he kept fiddling with the golden ring he wore as a necklace at all times. "You know Haven, you can send me an owl whenever. I can be at Hogwarts in a day if you need something... if something happens, or y'know someone says something."   
"Thanks but you know it'll be fine."   
He didn't seem to sure of that.  
"Isaac, are you okay?"   
"Hm?" his eyes kept jumping around, the bags under them were even darker than usual   
"You seem nervous."   
He chuckled "No, not. I'm not. Just... don't wanna miss the train. We should go."   
"The train leaves in an hour."   
"Yes, yes we should go." the drive to the station was only 20 minutes. Over the last month, Haven had gotten used to Isaac always being a little off, but today he seemed as though he'd been sniffing something, he shouldn't have been sniffing. They left the hotel and turned to enter one of the alleyways next to it. There he unlocked a car.   
"Wait. We're driving an actual car? Isaac you've got a license?"   
"Of course. It's a good way to get around England... except for all the traffic. You know, I mean you don't know because you're a child but the traffic here in England-" he exhaled sharply "it's the worst." he loaded the trunk into the back of the car and wanted to do the same with Salem but Haven preferred keeping the birdcage in her lap. She watched him put his seatbelt on, his hands still trembling and waited for him to start the car. She waited for nothing apparently, he just kept drumming his fingers on the stirring-wheel and bobbing his head back and forth like a duck.   
"Can you stop being awkward and tell me what's going on?"  
He looked at her with the sad eyes of his "You know Haven... you don't have a family, like at least not in the common way... but you gotta know you've got a family here."   
She sighed. It was hardly the same.   
"You gotta know, I care about you. I really do. You can come and spend all the holidays with us if you want."   
"Fedoria already said that."  
"No not at the hotel. I mean you can come spend it with my father and me."   
"Nice of you but I think I'll just stay at Hogwarts or at the hotel..."   
That didn't seem to sit right with him. He frowned a little and just started the car, not saying a ingle word for the entire ride, and though she didn't usually care how other people felt about there, she was a little worried she might've hurt his feelings.   
"We're early." She said quietly.  
He nodded.  
"Are you mad at me?"   
He shook his head.   
"Are you going to talk to me?"   
Finally he sighed "I don't really know what to say... I always become a bit of an emotional mess when it's time for goodbyes." he laughed wiping a tear from his eyes.   
"Isaac, you're always an emotional mess." that wasn't an exaggeration, his eyes were always filled with tears, and his nose and cheeks are always red.   
He laughed again before removing one of the excessive amounts of rings on his fingers "You should have this."   
She looked at the ring. It was a little out of the ordinary, seeming almost alive. The shiny black snake slithered from his hand to hers and wrapped itself around her middle finger, hissing quietly when she raised her hand to inspect it more closely. "Why?"   
"Well it's a snake."   
"I can see that."   
"Snakes and Slytherins go hand in hand... well, metaphorically."   
"I'm not a Slytherin though-well not yet anyways."  
"Don't have to. Slytherin just suits you perfectly."  
"Because I suck?"  
"A little." he said with a cheeky grin "You've been working really hard this summer, and you don't even know where you're from. Ambition is one of Slytherin's core values. I believe you'll make a fine Slytherin and an even finer witch."   
She smiled softly "I know a lot of Slytherins seem to find Hufflepuffs rather... dumb. You should know I don't think so at all."   
"Well I sure hope so. You owe a Hufflepuff your entire life."   
"What?"   
"Nothing." it seemed as if he'd realized he'd said something stupid and jumped out of the car. "I'll go get a cart!" he yelled running towards the entrance of the station.   
Haven stared after him in utter confusion. What had he just implied? Did a Hufflepuff once save her life? Was one of her parents a Hufflepuff? Did she quite literally owe someone her life? Was Isaac that Hufflepuff? Well, he couldn't be her father... maybe he saved her life before and she didn't remember? She thought back to the three sweaters in the trunk. One Ravenclaw one and two Hufflepuff ones. Only one belonged to him.   
"You coming?" he asked, locking the car doors and heaving the trunk and Salem on the cart.  
They pushed the cart up to platforms nine and ten and Haven looked at the ticket again "I knew it was rubbish, look. Nine and three-quarters, that doesn't exist."  
"Well obviously you wouldn't find the Hogwarts Express crowded with muggles. We have to go through that barrier over there." he pointed at a brick wall just like all the others.   
"Don't be ridiculous." she said "I'm not running at anything."  
"Don't be a wuss and come along already." he didn't wait for her to protest and ran towards the barrier, pushing the cart in front of him, and disappeared into the wall. With a groan she ran at the barrier as well, squeezing her eyes shut tight as she approached the metal turnstiles. She didn't hit anything. She just felt the atmosphere around her change, and when she opened her eyes, she found herself standing on a completely different platform, Isaac already waiting with the cart.  
It didn't take long for them to find an empty compartment, put the trunk into the corner next to the seats and Salem on one by the window.   
"Well," said Isaac, welling up again "do well, get good marks, behave-"  
"That's the goal."   
"Don't forget to have fun though. That's what it's all about. To have the greatest years of your life. I know I did."   
"That's kind of sad."   
He shook his head "It's not." he gave her an affectionate hug and brushed a light kiss on the top of her head "Make us all proud." she looked after him as he left the compartment and pulled her feet up on the seat. Outside many families were still saying their goodbyes, and she felt that stinging in her stomach, imagining what it would've been like to have her parents send her off. She suddenly realized that she really wouldn't have anybody at Hogwarts. All of the other students were walking past her compartment and she sat, wondering if maybe she had a friend somewhere on the train she'd forgotten about.   
She doubted it, but at least she still had Salem, even if he'd be the only one she'd be talking to all year. As the time passed more families streamed onto the platform and Haven felt herself shrink into the leather seat, wondering whether it wouldn't be best to just abandon the train and forget about going to Hogwarts. There was a sudden rap at the door, and it opened. Haven tried to not look at him and focused on Salem instead when a friendly faced boy with a mess of long black hair and striking grey eyes entered.  
"Hi," He held out a hand, "First year? Me too, Im Aidan."   
"Haven." she said, shaking his hand.   
"Can I sit here? Everywhere else is full, my mum wouldn't let me got on the train without going through the entire packing list for another twenty times."   
"Yeah." she took Salem's cage from the seat by the window and watched Aidan take a seat.   
"D'you know what house you'll be in?"  
She shook her head "Dunno, maybe Slytherin."  
"Me too, I mean at least I hope so. My mum was a Slytherin, it's kind of important to my family- what house were your parents in? Did they go to Hogwarts?"  
"Dunno. Maybe."  
"You don't know them?"  
"No."  
"So they could be muggles?" he asked curiously.  
"Don't know. Maybe." she rolled her eyes and decided to just ignore him. From her bag she took one of the comics she'd bought and began reading.  
"Oh, cool." said Aidan "I love Pep Comics."  
"Good for you." Haven could've screamed, she was stuck in a compartment with an eleven year old, seemingly about to talk her ear off, when luckily another girl slid open the door.   
"Oh, thank Merlin-" she heaved her trunk into the compartment "Been up and down the train trying to find an empty seat-" she had a strong posh British accent "I'm Lorinda, by the way."  
"Aidan." said Aidan, shaking her hand as well.  
"Haven." muttered Haven, not looking up from the pages. She wasn't ready for someone else to try and chat her up as well.  
Another girl, Mandy joined them as well, and soon the three of them were excitedly chatting about everything they'd already learned at home, their families, the subjects they were looking forward the most, and which houses they hoped to be sorted in. Just like Aidan and Haven, Lorinda assumed Slytherin would've been a good fit for her, while Mandy was still undecided. Lorinda was also a halfblood, and kept going on about her family.  
Haven just blurred them out, and hoped the ride wouldn't be too long. At some point a boy and a girl, looking for a toad, stuck their heads into the compartment, and there seemed to have been a fight somewhere further down the train, but otherwise, the ride wasn't too eventful. Aidan showed off a few spells he'd already taught himself, and eventually, Haven just decided to pretend to take a nap, so they'd finally leave her alone.  
She must've really dozed off, because by the time she opened her eyes again, it was pitch dark outside, and she could only see the outline of a beautiful landscape of hills, trees, rivers and lakes all rushing by.   
"Oh, you're awake." said Lorinda. "D'you want a chocolate frog?"  
"No thanks." Haven looked up to see that Megan wasn't sitting next to her anymore "Where'd the blonde one go?"  
"Found a friend." said Aidan. "Really wish I knew anyone here, but my mum's sort of really unpopular in the wizarding community, we don't know many wizards."  
Haven sighed quietly, she really couldn't ask a simple question without someone telling her their life story.  
"You're a Black, aren't you?" said Lorinda curiously.  
Aidan shrugged "Distantly related. The Blacks don't really like to be associated with my family... I come from a long line of blood traitors."  
"I'm glad my family isn't part of that whole pureblood mania." explained Lorinda "I mean, at this point our bloodline is such a high percentage muggle, it's surprising I've even got any magical abilities. Lucky I didn't turn out like my father. Smart as hell, did decently at Hogwarts but he can barely produce the lumos charm. Now he's a mathematics professor at Oxford though so... suppose it worked out for him. Sometimes I think even my muggle mother's got more magic in her than he does."  
"Bloodstatus hasn't go anything to do with magical ability." said Haven "They-"  
"Bleaaargh!" said Aidan in that moment. He'd put some weird looking bean into his mouth "Man I hate the black pepper ones."  
Lorinda picked one of the beans and tried it as well, followed by a smug smile "Strawberry."  
"Try one." said Aidan, offering Haven one of the beans.  
"What are they?" she said critically.  
"Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans." said Lorinda "And they really mean every flavour."  
"Ah-" said Haven "Think I'll pass."  
"Don't be a coward." grinned Aidan "Here, green. Bet it's apple."  
Haven sighed and tried it. It wasn't apple. "Ewwww" she cried as the taste of vomit fills my mouth.  
"What did you get?"  
"Vomit." she stuck out her tongue out in disgust, hoping to remove that taste from her mouth.  
"Oh that's a nasty one."   
"You don't say." she frowned and tried to get rid of the taste with another bean. She rolled her eyes as vomit was joined by the strong taste of liver "Oh fuck this."  
"No luck?" Lorinda was laughing, and put another red bean between her teeth, with the same satisfied grin "Cherry. You two really haven't got any luck."  
A sudden loud voice echoed through the train "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."  
"Aw man, finally." said Aidan, throwing all his things into his bag and pulling his black robes over his clothes "How do you think we'll be sorted?"  
"Wish I knew." sighed Lorinda "Been bugging me all year. Hope it's not a test... I haven't prepared for any tests yet."  
Haven wondered what would happen if it was a test. What if she turned out to be too stupid for Hogwarts. She followed their example and put on her robes as well, moving her wand from her sock into the little wand pocket on the inside.  
She peered out of the window, where the setting quickly changed from a wild forest, to a large green field, through a tunnel, past another green field, past a river, followed by another piece of forest, even wilder looking than the first one and then, the train pulled into Hogsmeade station.  
By now all the students had gathered in the corridors, and as soon as the train came to a stop they were off, jumping onto the dark platform.  
Haven pushed through the students, with Aidan and Lorinda still on her heel, and stepped out into the cold night air.   
"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry? C'mon follow me. Any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" it was that oaf, Hagrid, from the Leaky Cauldron, holding a lamp into their faces.  
"I think he wants the first years to follow him." she said jokingly to Aidan, before biting her tongue and immediately regretting having said anything at all.  
"You think?" he said "Should have said that."  
They half slipped, half climbed down the narrow path, Hagrid was leading them "Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec, jus' round this bend here." he announced through the silence.  
"Ooooooh!" shouted multiple children as they arrived the end of the path. Instead they were now standing at the edge of a large black lake, Hogwarts on the other side on a high mountain reaching far into the dark sky. In groups of four, they got into small boats to get them over the lake, through a dark tunnel and into a cave, appearing to be an underground sort of harbour.  
From there, they followed Hagrid up into a courtyard and stopped at a heavy oak front door "Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?" Hagrid asked and knocked on the door.


	4. T H E   S O R T I N G

At the door they were greeted by a tall, black-haired witch, in elegant green robes, who introduced herself as Professor McGonagall. After a short waiting period she led them into a enormous stone hall, the size of a cathedral. All the older students were already sitting at the tables, wearing the same black robes and pointy hats. The hall itself was completely lit by candles- floating candles, to be more precise- just hanging above the students' heads. Haven looked up to the ceiling to see what she'd been reading about in Hogwarts: A History, but it still didn't fail to impress her. It seemed as if there was no ceiling at all. Just the vast night sky hanging above them, pendulous grey clouds and glittering stars.  
"It's bewitched to look like the night sky." announced Aidan quietly "I read about-"  
"I know." hissed Haven "Read about it too."  
"Me too." said Lorinda "It's beautiful though, isn't it?"  
"Mhm." Haven looked through the crowds of students, trying to make out a familiar face, but no luck. They followed McGonagall up to the table facing the room, with all teachers seated at it, and eyeing the new students with the same curiosity as the older ones. The professor wordlessly placed a stool in front of them and on it, an old, dirty, patched up wizard's hat. Nobody said a word, except for the hat which began to sing.  
"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me.  
You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
And I can cap them all.  
There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be.  
You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve and chivalry,  
Set Gryffindors apart;  
You might belong in Hufflepuff  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true,  
And unafraid of toil;  
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
If you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;  
Or perhaps in Slytherin,  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folk use any means,  
To achieve their ends.  
So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"  
The hat bowed in front of them and the hall burst out in loud applause.   
"At least it's not a test." muttered Lorinda critically "D'you think that thing's got lice?"  
McGonagall stepped forward, holding a long roll of parchment "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted. Abbott, Hannah!" she called the first girl.  
A blonde girl with pigtails, pink in the face stumbled forward, put the hat on her head, sat down and then after a moment of silence was sorted into "HUFFLEPUFF!"  
"Apophis, Nia."   
"SLYTHERIN!" shouted the hat.  
Haven looked up see the back of a blonde girl walk towards the cheering Slytherin table.  
Susan Bones was sorted into Hufflepuff as well.   
Terry Boot and the girl from the train, Mandy Brocklehurst were sorted into Ravenclaw.   
A girl named Lavender Brown was the first to be sorted into Gryffindor.  
Nora Brown and Millicent Bulstrode went to Slytherin as well.  
Aidan sat down, and it took the hat two full minutes to decide, before it finally sorted him into Slytherin. He looked incredibly relieved as he ran over to the table.  
"Good for him." said Lorinda.   
The girl Haven recognized from Ollivanders was sorted into Gryffindor, and shortly after, Lorinda was sorted into Slytherin as well, though it took the hat almost as long to decide. Another boy, by the name of Draco Malfoy barely sat down before the hat sent him over to the Slytherins. Pansy, the one who talked to Haven at Madam Malkins was yet another Slytherin and then Haven's heart stopped. "Potter, Harry." said McGonagall, and the boy Haven knew from all her nightmares and daydreams stepped up to the hat. He was a lot shorter, skinnier, just younger, but there was no denying it was him. Some students whispered excitedly at the mention of his name, and he seemed to have a long internal fight with the hat, before being sorted into Gryffindor. Haven stared after him, to see him sit down next to that Jane Lupin girl, who gave him a ringing high-five.  
"Wilderwald, Haven." said McGonagall, finally. She walked over to the stool and put the hat on her head, to hear a loud voice in her head.   
"Hmmm, difficult, very difficult. I see ambition, plenty of courage... intelligent, aren't you- Now... you would do great in Ravenclaw I bet but you know where I see you. SLYTHERIN!" it shouted and Haven quickly walked over to the table at the other end of the room, ignoring the boos coming from two red-headed twins at the Gryffindor table.   
She sat down next Aidan and tried to ignore his grin.  
An older girl held out her hand "Welcome to Slytherin. I'm Gemma Farley, the Slytherin Prefect."   
Reluctantly Haven shook her hand. "Hi." she said, before Gemma went to shake another boy's hand, Blaise Zabini's, the last to be sorted.  
"So-" said Aidan staring at her with his piercing eyes "We all made Slytherin then."  
"Not Mandy." announced Lorinda, who sat slightly off, at the other side of the table.   
"Bummer." said Aidan "Anyways, just to let you know, I'm more than willing to help you guys out, if you ever need any help, especially in potions."   
"Won't be necessary." said Haven coolly "You're not the only one who read the books."  
"Well, I could use a study buddy myself. It's more of a one hand washes the other situation, really. You guys seem clever."  
Lorinda scoffed "Clever, yeah."  
A skinny Asian boy, with thick curls and black eyes, sitting next to Aidan suddenly said "I need study buddies too, if I'm being honest. I'm really good in Herbology, if you guys need help with that, y'know." he had a terrible mumble and Haven had to listen carefully to understand a word he was saying. "Oh, uhm I'm Elijah Montgomery by the way. Pureblood family but who cares, really. Where my family's from the whole blood thing really isn't that serious. We're from Vietnam y'know, but the school here is just better. Or so I've been told. In Asia we only have a Magic School in Japan, and I heard they're the best Quidditch players over there, but maybe a little too serious. Anyways my grandparents really wanted my parents to go to Hogwarts so they came here. Best decision, if you ask me. This place is awesome." he sure talked a lot for someone whose only way of talking was a quiet mumbling.   
"Wicked." said Aidan "I'm actually kind of rubbish at Herbology, even a cactus doesn't stay alive in my care, so don't mind if I do."  
Lorinda sighed "If you guys are starting a study group, I want in. Defence Against The Dark Arts is kinda my thing. I'm Lorinda by the way." she shook Elijah's hand.  
"Didn't hear anyone mention transfigurations yet." Said a short skinny boy, with long blonde hair. "I'm really into that."   
"Well-" Aidan looked back at Haven "You good at anything?"  
She shrugged "Dunno, I know most of the textbooks by heart- don't suppose that's of any use."  
"Good enough for me." he seemed dead set, on making her a friend. "Looks like we've got ourselves a study group."  
"Don't suppose any of you are good at flying?" mumbled Elijah.   
"Oh that's simple."   
"Besides, flying isn't something we could study anyways."  
Aidan laughed "Imagine if we had exams on flying a broom."   
"The theory has to be quite interesting though. I mean how does a broom actually work." said the blonde boy.   
"I bet its just like a giant wand." Says Elijah.   
"I read somewhere, they're just enchanted." said Haven "Just a bunch of spells. Not special core, wood or mind of its own."  
"They have various spells cast on them, actually. Even cushioning charms and all." confirmed Aidan.   
They were interrupted when the headmaster Albus Dumbledore stood up "Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" he sat back down and everybody clapped and cheered.  
"Well, oddment sure was fitting." whispered Haven when the food had appeared in front of them. She stared at the sudden piles of food filling the previously empty golden plates. Chips, roasted chicken, roast potatoes, steaming vegetables, and more of everything she could've ever dreamed of.   
"I wonder how they do that..." said Lorinda examining the food.  
"Oh, it's a simple conjuring spell. Easier than carrying it all down from the kitchen." said the blonde boy with his mouth already stuffed.  
"I still can't believe the actual Harry Potter is going to school with us." said Aidan suddenly, staring over at the Gryffindor table. Haven followed his look to where the boy with his black hair and green eyes was playfighting with Jane Lupin, while talking to yet another red headed boy, Ron Weasley.   
"Who exactly is he?" she asked.  
"You don't know who Harry Potter is?" Aidan looked genuinely surprised "He's only the boy who single-handedly killed the Dark Lord when he was just a year old."  
"He did? How?"  
"Nobody knows. Some say, he didn't kill him, he just scared him off, but I think that's just as impressive."  
"Maybe one of his parents did it." said Lorinda "Or literally anybody else. Dunno why people are so dead set on this myth, as if a baby could actually defeat the Dark Lord himself."  
"Ahem, just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered." Dumbledore interrupted them "I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." he seemed to be looking over to the red-head twins, who had booed every single first year that was sorted into Slytherin.  
"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors."   
"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death. And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore."Everyone pick their favourite tune and off we go!"  
The older students all began to sing, very much not in a choir:  
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,  
Teach us something please,  
Whether we be old and bald,  
Or young with scabby knees,  
Our heads could do with filling,  
With some interesting stuff,  
For now they're bare and full of air,  
Dead flies and bits of fluff,  
So teach us things worth knowing,  
Bring back what we've forgot,  
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,  
And learn until our brains all rot."  
The song ended about thirty different times with only the twins still singing along to a very slow funeral march. Once they finally finished, they're faces turned into proud grins.   
"Ah, music." Dumbledore said, wiping his eyes "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"   
Gemma had the first years follow her out of the Great Hall, over a long hallway and then down a flight of stone steps. The passages were growing darker and darker, the further they went into the school.  
"How are we ever supposed to remember the way?" whispered Aidan.  
"No idea."   
They finally came to a stop in front of a damp stone wall.  
"Now remember-" said Gemma "The password to the common-room is Antipodean Opaleye. You'll do good remembering that." she turned to the wall, repeated the password and the stone door, concealed in the wall slid open.  
"Antipodean Opaleye." said Aidan "That's a-"  
"A breed of Dragon native to New Zealand, although it is known to migrate to Australia in search of territory." interrupted Haven " I know.  
The Slytherin Common Room was another grand hall, with high ceilings, balconies, a green fire cracking, surrounded by black leather sofas, already packed with the older students. But by far the most impressive trait were the windows- well not the windows themselves, but the view. Haven stared out into the dimly lit, green water. They were under the lake.  
"Now-" said Gemma, "welcome to your common room. Your dorms are just down there." She pointed at two staircases "The girls dorms are upstairs, and the boys dorms are downstairs." She pulled out a roll of parchment "When I read your names, you will go into your assigned dormitory, your things are already there. You'd do best going straight to bed, classes begin bright and early at nine, and breakfast starts at half past seven. You will find your class schedules on your beds. Now, the boys first. The fourth door to the right leads to the dorm of Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini."  
The four boys wandered off to the stairs.  
"Third door to the left, Aidan Hubbard, Elijah Montgomery,Theodore Nott, Cristian Wong and Julian Zaes."  
They walked off as well.  
"Alright for the girls, Nora Brown, Millicent Bulstrode, Tracey Davis, Daphne Greengrass, you have the second door on the left."   
They walked off.  
"Which leaves Nia Apophis, Lorinda Mullins, Pansy Parkinson and Haven Wilderwald... it's the third door on the right for you."  
Haven followed Lorinda upstairs. "Oh wow, this is incredible!"  
It really was. On the walls, decorated with Slytherin crest and medieval tapestries depicting the adventures of famous Slytherins, stood four ancient four-poster beds, covered in green silk hangings. Each has a wooden nightstand by its side and their trunks were indeed already placed at the end of each of their beds. Silver lanterns hanging from the ceiling filled the otherwise green-lit room with warm light.  
"I can't believe it actually worked." whispered the blonde kid they'd talked to during the feast.  
"Aren't you a boy?" asked Pansy coldly.  
"No. My name's Nia by the way."   
That's why Haven didn't recognize her. Apophis, she was the first to be sorted and she only caught a glimpse of her back.  
"Whatever." shrugged Pansy and crawled into the bed assigned to her.  
"It's... unexpectedly cozy." said Lorinda inspecting the wooden floor covered in green carpets.  
"I know, right?" said Nia, already pinning a picture of her family onto the wooden board next to her bed.  
Haven ran her fingers over the wooden bookshelf next to her bed. There were some old books standing in it, but it left enough space for all of her schoolbooks for at least seven years.  
Just like the others, she sat down on her bed and started examining her timetable.  
"Ugh, great." groaned Pansy "Our first class is potions with the Gryffindors. Great way to ruin the week before it's even started."  
"You got a problem with Gryfindor?" asked Lorinda.  
"Infested with Weasleys, Mudbloods, halfbreeds. It's disgusting. But I reckon you'd feel right at home." She spit out each word.  
Haven furrowed her eyebrows "What do you care?"  
"You can stay out of this." said Pansy "I don't have a problem with pure-bloods. It's the half-breed and the filthy mudblood, who'd better watch their steps."  
"Who says I'm not a mudblood?" asked Haven "Don't know who the fuck my parents are. I might have the filthiest blood in the entire castle, who knows."  
Pansy sighed "Too bad. You actually seemed decent back at the Alley, but suppose if you choose to rather suck up to the filth, that's your decision. Don't expect me to be nice though."  
"Trust me." spat Nia "Nobody would ever mistake you for a nice person. No worries."


End file.
